{"id":2380,"date":"2017-02-07T17:00:30","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T22:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=2380"},"modified":"2017-02-07T17:31:56","modified_gmt":"2017-02-07T22:31:56","slug":"njpw-new-beginning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2017\/02\/07\/njpw-new-beginning\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW New Beginning In Sapporo Review 2\/5\/17"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Japan Pro Wrestling<\/strong>\u00a0(NJPW) returned to Sapporo on February 5, 2017 to present its first of two New Beginning<\/strong> PPV events.<\/p>\n

Held at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center<\/strong>, the event drew an announced crowd of 5,545.<\/p>\n

Kevin Kelly<\/strong> and Don Callis<\/strong> handled the English commentary. Nine matches were held, four of which were contested for championships.The story of the show was Suzuki-Gun aiming to take complete control over New Japan following their shocking return at New Year’s Dash.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BQNEGRXA5Ml\/?taken-by=njpw1972<\/p>\n

1st Match:\u00a0<\/b>Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) defeated Kushida & Hirai Kawato in 7:34<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

The big takeaway of the match was Kawato’s fighting spirit. He fought most of the match for his team and has already grown in confidence and skill.\u00a0Kawato insisted on starting the match which Kushida obliged though perhaps to his better judgment.<\/p>\n

Kanemaru stuffed early takedown attempts and fired Kawato into the ropes for a high back bodydrop.\u00a0 He then knocked Kushida off the apron with a forearm smash.\u00a0 Kanemaru executed a nice looking suplex to Kawato.<\/p>\n

Desperado tagged in and threw Kawato through the ropes onto the floor. He sent Kawato into the guardrail and grinded his boot into the side of his face.\u00a0Desperado rolled Kawato back into the ring and slammed him, covering for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

Kawato got a foot on the bottom rope to break a chinlock but Desperado put him back on the mat with a chop to the chest.\u00a0 He tagged in Kanemaru who slammed Kawato then sent him into enemy territory with a chop.<\/p>\n

SZG worked over Kawato in their corner.\u00a0 Kanemaru applied a modified camel clutch while Desperado stood in front to ward off Kushida.\u00a0 Kawato was able to scoot backwards and get his foot on the ropes a second time to force a break.<\/p>\n

Kawato caught Kanemaru with a kick as he went for a backdrop but his dropkick was swatted away.\u00a0 Kanemaru knocked Kushida off the apron with an elbow strike but walked into a Kawato dropkick.<\/p>\n

Kushida got the hot tag and knocked Kanemaru down with elbows. He caught Desperado coming in with a hip toss\/cartwheel dropkick combination.\u00a0 Kanemaruo landed a boot to the midsection but Kushida was able to leapfrog him as he came off the ropes.<\/p>\n

In a cool combination, Kushida hit a bridging German suplex on Desperado while going into a Backlund Bridge on Kanemaru nearly pinning them at the same time.<\/p>\n

Kushida connected with a pair of kicks to Kanemaru’s arm but he caught a third one and elbowed the leg. Kanemaru\u00a0 came off the ropes into an elbow smash.\u00a0 Kushida came off the ropes but his momentum was halted when Kanemaru pulled the referee in front of him.<\/p>\n

This allowed Kanemaru to connect with a dropkick and tag in Desperado.\u00a0\u00a0 SZG sent Kushida into the ropes but he came back with a double handspring elbow.\u00a0 He saw Kawato with his hand outstretched and tagged him back in.<\/p>\n

Kawato ducked under a pair of attempted strikes and hit a spinning elbow. He caught Desperado in the corner with a running elbow smash.\u00a0 Kawato struggled to lock in the Young Lion Crab but eventually got Desperado over.<\/p>\n

He had to abandon it quickly to dropkick Kanemaru as he stepped through the ropes.\u00a0 Kushida took care of Kanemaru on the floor.\u00a0 Desperado planted Kawato with a spinebuster as he came off the ropes.<\/p>\n

Kawato kicked out at two but Desperado converted it into a single leg crab. After a massive struggle Kawato was able to get to the ropes.\u00a0 Kawato got successive nearfalls on Desperado with an inside cradle, school boy, and backslide.<\/p>\n

Desperado speared Kawato for a nearfall then immediately hit the Guitara de Angel for the pinfall.<\/p>\n

Post-Match:Desperado tossed Kawato to the outside and had words with Kushida. As Kushida tended to his partner, SZG suddenly returned for another assault on their beaten opponents before finally heading to the back.<\/p>\n

Kelly and Callis discussed the incident that took place at the official press conference for the main event where Minoru Suzuki attacked Kazuchika Okada and put him in a kneebar. That further damaged the leg he went to town on at the last Road To New Beginning<\/strong> show on 2\/2.<\/p>\n

2nd Match:\u00a0TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Kojima & Satoshi Kojima) & Yuji Nagata defeated Yoshitatus & Henare & Tomoyuki Oka in 7:48<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

This was a basic but very good battle between the grumpy New Japan veterans against Tatu’s team of hungry Young Lions.<\/p>\n

Nagata had defeated Henare and Oka in separate singles matches leading to this show.<\/p>\n

Team Tatsu attacked Team Nagata before the bell rang.<\/p>\n

Oka drove Nagata from the ring.\u00a0\u00a0 He and Henare sent Kojima into the ropes and hit a double shoulder tackle. Kojima sprung up right into a Tatsu dropkick.<\/p>\n

The trio triple stomped on Kojima and sent him into the corner.\u00a0 Henare missed the follow in and Kojima wound up stacking all three opponents into the corner for his trademark rapid fire chops.<\/p>\n

Kojima tossed Tatsu to the outside and chopped away at Oka.\u00a0 After casting Oka aside, he continued chopping Henare and sent him across the ring.\u00a0 He followed in with a running forearm smash.<\/p>\n

Kojima hit a diving elbow for a nearfall then tagged in Nagata. Nagata\u00a0 worked over Henare with body shots; he then sent him into the ropes and flipped him with a knee to the midsection.\u00a0 Tatsu got knocked off the apron with a boot for good measure.<\/p>\n

Tenzan tagged in and took Henare down with Mongolian Chops. He put him in the corner for more Mongolian Chops and then sent him across the ring.\u00a0 Tenzan followed in with a corner clothesline followed by a suplex for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

Henare avoided a falling headbutt and got the tag to Tatsu. Tatsu hit a springboard missile dropkick on Tenzan and knocked Kojima and Nagata off the apron.\u00a0 Tatsu dropped Tenzan with a trio of kicks to the chest.<\/p>\n

Tenzan reversed a whip but got caught coming in with an elbow. Tatsu leapfrogged Tenzan from the middle rope and ducked a clothesline to hit a spin kick for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

Tenzan caught Tatsu with a headbutt to the gut and Mongolian chops. He came off the ropes right into a knee to the midsection.\u00a0 Tenzan caught Tatsu with a modified Samoan drop before tagging out to Nagata.<\/p>\n

Nagata landed a pair of chest kicks, Tatsu blocking a third and dropping an elbow to the leg.\u00a0 Mid-riing they had an extended forearm war with Nagata getting the upperhand. Nagata came off the ropes and was met with a chest kick that took him down.<\/p>\n

Oka picked up the mantle for the forearm exchanges and fared much better. That is until his mentor\/trainer reared back and slapped the taste out of his mouth.<\/p>\n

Oka pushed Nagata off a side headlock and couldn’t be taken down with shoulder tackles. A kick to the chest\u00a0 didn’t work either and Nagata was nailed with a powerful tackle.<\/p>\n

Oka applied the Young Lion Crab with TenCozy coming to Nagata’s rescue. Tatsu and Henare entered the frey to aide their partner as well.\u00a0 Henare and Tatsu sent TenCozy to the outside leaving Oka and Nagata to do battle.<\/p>\n

Oka sent Nagata into the corner but Yuji came firing out with a big boot. Nagata delivered an Exploder Suplex and locked on the Nagata Lock II.<\/p>\n

Oka surprisingly held on and grabbed Nagata’s wrist to pry his hands apart. Being a crafty vet, Nagata simply transitioned to the other side and reapplied the hold. Spent, Oka was forced to tap out.<\/p>\n

3rd Match:\u00a0CHAOS (Will Ospreay & Gedo & Jado) defeated British Heavyweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask IV in 6:47<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BQIQz3YAW5y\/?taken-by=njpw1972<\/p>\n

Very short but great showcase for Ospreay. He came off looking like a big deal headed into his title mach with Shibata on 2\/11.<\/p>\n

Ospreay and Shibata started the match as Ospreay tried to grapple with his rival. Shibata shut him down and trapped him in a waistlock on the mat. Ospreay got to his feet and cranked on the arm, turning into a hammerlock.\u00a0 Shibata easily escaped and reversed into his arm lock of his own.<\/p>\n

Ospreay reversed momentum back into his favor and applied a standing neck vice.\u00a0 Shibata broke free, saw his kick blocked,\u00a0 and avoided a lethal head kick attempt from Ospreay.<\/p>\n

Shibata buried a knee into the midsection and sunk in a side headlock deep. He took Ospreay over onto the mat but Ospreay countered with a head scissors around the neck. Shibata escaped but Ospreay avoided a buzz saw kick.<\/p>\n

Liger and Jado tagged in and Jado immediately tried to take Liger off his feet with shoulder blocks. Liger stayed vertical and came off the ropes with a shoulder block of his own. Jado didn’t budge and the two flexed in duel intimidation attempts.<\/p>\n

Gedo nailed Liger from behind as Ospreay knocked Shibata and Tiger off the apron.\u00a0 Liger reversed a double whip and sent Gedo and Jado into one another.\u00a0 Gedo avoided a palm exploder and poked Liger in the eye.<\/p>\n

Gedo landed several boots to Liger’s midsection, working him over in the corner.\u00a0 He put him down on the mat and tagged in Jado.\u00a0 Jado stood on Liger’s chest using the ropes for leverage.<\/p>\n

Ospreay tagged in and rocked Liger with an uppercut. He followed with a nice flying elbow and got a nearfall,\u00a0 Tiger making the save.<\/p>\n

Gedo tagged in and snapmared Liger onto the mat.\u00a0 Gedo stepped on Liger’s throat and did his trademark air Jordan rake with his boot. \u00a0 Liger fired back with chops so Gedo slowed him down by grabbing at his mask and forcing him into CHAOS territory.<\/p>\n

Jado got the tag but Liger turned a double backdrop into a double DDT.\u00a0\u00a0 Tiger got the hot tag and flew onto Gedo with a crossbody.\u00a0\u00a0 Jado nabbed him in a waistlock but he managed to kick both he and Gedo away.<\/p>\n

Tiger landed a spinning back kick to the ribs and rocked Gedo with chest kicks into the corner. He sent Gedo across the ring and pretty much caved in his head with another deadly kick.<\/p>\n

Gedo rammed Tiger into the corner to prevent a Tiger Suplex. Tiger ducked a forearm and hit a Tiger Driver for a really close nearfall.\u00a0\u00a0 Tiger hit the ropes but Gedo caught him with an inverted atomic drop.\u00a0 Gedo followed with a jawbreaker that put Tiger on his knees for a superkick for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

Ospreay tagged in and immediately went back to Shibata, booting him off the apron. He charged Tiger and was backdropped onto the apron.\u00a0 Ospreay hit a rope grab enzuigiri\u00a0 followed by a springboard elbow that didn’t fully connect.<\/p>\n

He still got a two count off the cover with Shibata making the save.\u00a0\u00a0 Shibata just peppered Ospreay with forearms in the corner.\u00a0 He backed up and charged but Ospreay was there to meet him with a nice dropkick.<\/p>\n

Ospreay avoided a boot from Tiger and hit a springboard head kick followed by a twisting\u00a0 leg kick to the back of the neck.<\/p>\n

Ospreay connected with the OsCutter on Tiger for the pinfall.<\/p>\n

Post-Match: Shibata kicked Ospreay in the back of the head and unloaded uppercuts.\u00a0 Ospreay slowed him down with a roundhouse kick to the ribs then laid him out with an OsCutter.\u00a0 He taunted a fallen Shibata with his title before laying it at his head.<\/p>\n

4th Match: Yoshi-Hashi pinned Takashi Iizuka (w\/ El Desperado)\u00a0 in 7:00<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BQIR6WzgJ1L\/?taken-by=njpw1972<\/p>\n

This really wasn’t much of match.\u00a0 It was Iizuka mugging Yoshi and Yoshi showing tremendous grit and heart in spite of the punishment.<\/p>\n

Desperado led Iizuka through the crowd on a leash.\u00a0 He nearly got to the Japanese announce team but Desperado pulled him away.<\/p>\n

Yoshi executed a baseball slide to Iizuka who had his back to him wandering around on the floor.\u00a0\u00a0 He sent Iizka into the railing but Iizuka came back with a rake of the eyes.<\/p>\n

Iizuka fired Yoshi into the railing and pulled out a chair from under the ring.\u00a0\u00a0 He pulled Yoshi into the crowd and beamed him with the chair.<\/p>\n

Iizuka stomped on Yoshi then bounced\u00a0 his head off the Japanese announce desk. He kept up the assault with more stomps and choking him with the announcer’s chair.\u00a0\u00a0 Yoshi just barely beat the count back into the ring at 18.<\/p>\n

More stomps from Iizuka ensued as well as choking, breaking each time at the count of four.\u00a0 He grabbed the microphone and wrapped the cord around Yoshi’s throat as Desperado distracted the referee.<\/p>\n

Iizuka hung Yoshi over the ropes by the cord then commenced with more stomps in the corner.<\/p>\n

Izuka sent Yoshi into the corner but got caught running in with a boot. Dazed he charged a second time but Yoshi avoided contact and took him down with a unique spinning kick.<\/p>\n

Fired up Yoshi laid into Iizuka with chops and forearms. He ducked a sledge and hit a flipping neckbreaker off the ropes.\u00a0 Yoshi landed a chop then picked up Iizuka in a front face suplex position to drape him across the top rope.\u00a0 Yoshi connected with a flying dropkick straight to the back for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

Iizuka simply grabbed Yoshi in for a double handed choke.\u00a0 Yoshi broke free and threw forearms to the side of the head.\u00a0 He came off the ropes where Iizuka caught him with an inverted atomic drop.<\/p>\n

Desperado again distracted the official so Iizuka could grab some rope from his trunks and choke Yoshi to the mat. He made a cover but the referee stopped when he noticed the illegal tactic.\u00a0\u00a0 Undaunted, he just kicked away at Yoshi some more.<\/p>\n

Yoshi came back with a lariat followed by a quick release slam. He came off the top looking for a Swanton Bomb but Iizuka got the knees up.<\/p>\n

Once more Desperado provided a distraction and Iizuka slipped on his Iron Claw.\u00a0 He took a swing and missed, Yoshi connecting with a superkick.\u00a0 Yoshi followed with a lungblower\u00a0 and a sliding dropkick to the small of the back.<\/p>\n

Quickly Yoshi delivered the Karma, planting Iizuka right on his head for the pinfall.<\/p>\n

Thoughts:The first four matches provided some solid action as short as they were.I really liked what we saw from Oka, Henare, and Kawato in their respective matches.\u00a0 Of the three I like Henare’s potential the most but the other two aren’t far behind.Will Ospreay has a big future in New Japan. If he stays on trajectory,\u00a0 he could bust through the Junior Heavyweight Division.\u00a0 His interactions with Shibata are just a small sample of both what he can do and what kind of match they can have in six days.Yoshi-Hashi continues to move up the ladder.\u00a0 You aren’t going to get much from Iizuka ever but they told a good story with Yoshi hanging in there and pulling out the win.<\/p>\n

Overall, I give a recommendation of checking out all the matches covered here.<\/p>\n

5th Match:\u00a0Michael Elgin & Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi & Manabu Nakanishi & Dragon Lee defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA & BUSHI & EVIL) in 13:03<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Really excellent match with a ton of action from bell to bell.<\/p>\n

Taguchi’s\u00a0 costume on this night was a parody of EVIL.<\/p>\n

Lee and Takahashi started off renewing their long standing rivalry as well as offering a glimpse into their big match in Osaka.<\/p>\n

They exchanged rapid fire chops mid-ring.\u00a0 Lee connected with a spinning back kick to the ribs and hit the ropes.\u00a0 Takahashi went for a backdrop but Lee backflipped over him, ducked a clothesline, and took him over with a snap Hurricanrana.<\/p>\n

Both hit the ropes a few times, Takahashi attempting a headscissors and Lee cartwheeling to land on his feet.\u00a0\u00a0 Takashi trapped Lee in a waistlock but Lee managed to power him into his corner where Elgin tagged himself in.<\/p>\n

Elgin called for Naito who actually obliged and made the tag.\u00a0 The rest of LIJ dropped to the floor as their leader evaded Elgin’s grasp. As Elgin’s focus was on Naito posing on the mat, BUSHI and SANADA attacked him from behind.<\/p>\n

They held Elgin for Naito but he ran into a boot to the face.\u00a0 Elgin pulled BUSHI and SANADA into one another then floored SANADA with a rolling elbow. He pressed slammed BUSHI onto Naito.<\/p>\n

Elgin held Naito up in a delayed vertical suplex for a long time before dropping to the mat.\u00a0 Taguchi tagged in and took Naito over with a snapmare followed by a short range hip attack.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He executed another for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

Tanahashi briefly tagged in for the same snapmare\/hip attack combination and tagged in Nakanishi.\u00a0 Nakanishi kept the hip attack train rolling as well.\u00a0 He chopped Naito then tagged Elgin back in.<\/p>\n

Not wanting to be left out, Elgin snapmared Naito and did a hip attack after some funky weapon dancing of his own.<\/p>\n

Taguchi got back in and tired out Naito by constantly sending him into the ropes and dropping down multiple times.\u00a0 Finally he threw him over the top rope onto the floor.<\/p>\n

Taguchi readied himself for a dive but Takahashi kicked him in the head.\u00a0 Lee dropkicked Takahashi out of the ring and followed with a no ropes somersault plancha, his legs catching the guardrail on the way down.<\/p>\n

Taguchi tried to run the ropes for another dive but this time SANADA interrupted with a pair of leapfrogs and a well placed dropkick.\u00a0 LIJ took the rest of Team Elgin off the apron and fought them around the ring.<\/p>\n

SANADA stomped Taguchi down in the corner.\u00a0 Naito landed a forearm to the small of Taguchi’s back and applied a front facelock.\u00a0 SANADA sent Nakanishi into the corner when he rolled back into the ring.<\/p>\n

EVIL and BUSHI posted Nakanishi where it hurts the most as SANADA followed in with a basement dropkick.\u00a0\u00a0 Naito caught Tauchi coming off the ropes with a boot to the midsection, BUSHI following with a sunset flip.\u00a0 BUSHI leveraged Taguchi back up for a Naito sliding dropkick to the face.<\/p>\n

Naito covered for a nearfall and nudged at the official for what he thought was a slow count.\u00a0 EVIL tagged in and slammed Taguchi.\u00a0 He followed up with a running senton for a nearfall before grinding into Taguchi with a chinlock.<\/p>\n

Taguchi fought up with shots to the body but EVIL sent him to the mat with a chop.\u00a0 EVIL measured Taguchi in the corner and charged in only to be met with a boot to the face.\u00a0 EVIL turned a hip attack into an atomic drop.<\/p>\n

Taguchi was sent into the ropes but turned things around by springboarding his entire body backwards onto EVIL.\u00a0 Elgin got the tag and landed a head kick from the apron.<\/p>\n

Elgin hit an impressive slingshot splash on EVIL and laid out Takahashi with a bicycle kick. BUSHI took flight for a crossbody but was caught easily by Big Mike and hoisted onto his shoulders.\u00a0 Elgin delivered a Samoan drop\/fall away slam combo on BUSHI and Takahashi.<\/p>\n

Naito surprised Elgin with a kick to the midsection but Elgin plucked him out of the air as he left his feet looking for his trademark forearm smash.\u00a0 Elgin dumped Naito and SANADA on their heads with a German Suplex.\u00a0 EVIL swung at Elgin who ducked and delivered a rolling pair of German suplexes.<\/p>\n

EVIL grabbed onto the rope when Elgin went for a third and threw elbows to break free. Elgin blocked his strike attempt and hit an Enzuigiri followed by a dead lift German suplex for a close nearfall.<\/p>\n

EVIL found himself in the corner as The Never Six Man Tag champs unleashed a flurry of offense. Tanahashi landed a running crossbody and sent him into a Taguchi hip attack. Nakanishi completed the trifecta with a big splash.\u00a0 Tanahashi got a nearfall with a senton splash.<\/p>\n

EVIL avoided the Sling Blade and went for The EVIL; Tanahashi countered and went for the Dragon Suplex but EVIL elbowed free.\u00a0 They traded forearms with EVIL winning out with a rolling elbow.\u00a0 Tanahashi turned an attempted fisherman’s buster into a rolling neckbreaker.<\/p>\n

EVIL evaded a second Sling Blade and caught Tanahashi on the nose with a forearm out of the corner.\u00a0 Lee and Takahashi both got the tag and we were right back to where the match began.<\/p>\n

Lee ducked a clothesline and flipped Takahashi with a knee to the midsection. He connected with a sliding dropkick for a nearfall.\u00a0\u00a0 They had a back and forth on reversing an Irish whip, Takahashi landing a forearm.<\/p>\n

He sent Lee into the ropes chest first for a rebound German Suplex but Lee flipped over onto his feet.\u00a0 Lee looked for the rebound German and hit it. He followed with a pump knee strike flush on the jaw.<\/p>\n

Takahashi landed a superkick in response followed by a release overhead belly to belly suplex when Lee stayed on his feet and charged forward.<\/p>\n

BUSHIi got the tag and delivered a springboard missile dropkick to Lee.\u00a0 A Bushirooni later he landed an enzuigiri followed by a lungblower.\u00a0 LIJ ran in to attack Team Elgin, preventing them from stepping in.<\/p>\n

BUSHI, SANADA, and EVIL went to work on Lee. Lee was sent into the corner, BUSHI following in with a double knee strike. He sent Lee into a kick to the ribs from EVIL followed by a kick from SANADA.<\/p>\n

BUSHI got a nearfall with the Codebreaker.\u00a0 He went for the MX but had to leap over Lee who was ready for it.\u00a0 Nakanishi hit a lariat on BUSHI but seconds later SANADA hit a dropkick to the knee.\u00a0 Taguchi took out SANADA with a hip attack.<\/p>\n

EVIL hit a sidewalk slam on Taguchi and was then taken down by a Tanahashi corkscrew dragon leg whip.\u00a0 He went up for a High Fly Crossbody to the floor but Naito stopped him momentarily.<\/p>\n

Elgin got underneath Naito and sent him onto LIJ with a power bomb. Tanahashi completely wiped out LIJ with the High Fly Crossbody.<\/p>\n

In the ring Lee hit the Death Nukadora on BUSHI for the pinfall.<\/p>\n

Post-Match:Lee and Takahashi shared a tense staredown as Lee motioned he’d be taking the Time Bomb’s Junior Heavyweight title in Osaka.<\/p>\n

A brief intermission followed as the Japanese crew recapped the action thus far.<\/p>\n

6th Match:\u00a0IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice (Barreta & Rocky Romero) defeated Suzuki-Gun (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku w\/El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Miho Abe) in 13:37 to retain the titles<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

This was pretty much a prolonged 5 on 2 handicap match with RPG Vice overcoming the odds.\u00a0 The interference hit a ridiculous level but Romero and Barreta put on a clinic in the process.<\/p>\n

Abe tried to entice the champions during introductions but they weren’t having any of it.<\/p>\n

When her second attempt of seduction failed, she turned her attention to the referee and lured him into the corner.\u00a0 This allowed all of SZG to get the jump on RPG Vice.<\/p>\n

Taichi stomped on Romero and went for a powerbomb.\u00a0 Romero turned it into a hurricanrana but before he could follow up, TAKA was in to kick him in the midsection.\u00a0 TAKA threw some knees and hit the ropes only to be surprised by Barreta and\u00a0 an overhead belly to belly suplex.<\/p>\n

TAKA rolled to the floor but RPG Vice allowed no breather as they took him and Taichi out with stereo dives through the ropes.\u00a0 Romero taunted Desperado and Kanemaru as Barreta rolled Michinoku back into the ring.<\/p>\n

Barreta delivered a chop then slammed TAKA onto the canvas.\u00a0 He hit the ropes but took a spill when Taichi pulled the top rope down.\u00a0 TAKA elbowed Romero off the apron and pulled the referee to the mat.\u00a0 Meanwhile Taichi, Desperado, and Kanemaru put the boots to Barreta on the floor.<\/p>\n

Taichi held Barreta long enough for Abe to slap him silly; he then not so subtly put the bell hammer down the back of his tights.<\/p>\n

In the ring TAKA raked the eyes of Barreta who fired back with forearm shivers.\u00a0 TAKA reared back as if he were going to deliver a hard strike but only poked Barrera in the eye instead.<\/p>\n

Taichi tagged in as Desperado distracted the official and clubbed Barreta in the head with the handle of the hammer. He then jabbed it into his eye ala Magnum T.A. and Tully Blanchard at Starrcade ’85<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

SZG sent Barreta into the corner, Taichi following in with a clothesline and TAKA with a knee strike.\u00a0 Taichi dropped a knee low and covers with TAKA administering their own three count. Taichi taunted Romero who came into the ring but was stopped by the referee.<\/p>\n

Taichi flipped Barreta upside down in the corner with a strong Irish Whip but he came right back with a lariat.\u00a0\u00a0 Barreta tried to tag Romero but Desperado pulled him off the apron at the last second.\u00a0\u00a0 Taichi did a mocking version of the Forever Clothesline on Barreta in the corner.<\/p>\n

He took too long going for a second and Barreta moved out of the way.\u00a0 Barreta spiked Taichi with a Tornado DDT allowing him to make the tag to Romero.\u00a0\u00a0 Romero caught TAKA with a springboard crossbody then Taichi with a snap Hurricanrana off the ropes.<\/p>\n

Romero rocked Taich with a palm thrust into the corner and proceeded to go into Forever Clothesline mode. Romero ducked\u00a0 a clothesline attempt from Taichi only for SZG to avoid a double clothesline.\u00a0 Romero ducked a double chop and finally hit the double Forever Clothesline on them both.<\/p>\n

Taichi blocked Sliced Bread and a kick from Romero; he ducked one enzuigiri but not a second.\u00a0\u00a0 Romero chopped Taichi in the corner and sent him across the ring. He missed a charge allowing Taichi to connect with a step up enzuigiri.\u00a0 Taichi got a great nearfall with a wicked buzzsaw kick.<\/p>\n

Taichi got serious and ditched the pull away pants. Romero ducked a head kick and landed an uppercut. Taichi responded with a kick to the chest.\u00a0 Romero caught Taichi with a leaping knee strike and a rolling Sliced Bread.<\/p>\n

Barreta decked TAKA off the apron.\u00a0 He draped Taichi across the top rope and Romero came off with a dropkick square to the head.\u00a0 Barreta followed with a sliding knee to the face for a very close nearfall, TAKA barely breaking it up in time.<\/p>\n

Romero tossed TAKA through the ropes.\u00a0\u00a0 RPG Vice set up for Strong Zero but Abe “fell” into the ring distracting the referee.\u00a0 Romero got drug under the bottom rope onto the floor as Barreta escaped a powerbomb to chop Taichi.<\/p>\n

Baretta rocked Taichi with a forearm but as he came off the ropes, Taichi sent him into a chair being held by Desperado.\u00a0 Taichi nearly won with a Taichi style Gedo Clutch.<\/p>\n

TAKA tagged in and went for the Michinoku Driver; Barreta escaped but received a thumb to the eye for the effort.\u00a0\u00a0 TAKA kicked out Barreta’s leg and got a nearfall with a la Magistral cradle.\u00a0 He followed with a running knee to the face for another nearfall, Romero making the save.<\/p>\n

Taichi went after Romero and tossed him to the floor. Barreta followed courtesy of a jumping front kick from TAKA.\u00a0\u00a0 TAKA wiped out both RPG Vice with a beautiful\u00a0asasi<\/em><\/span> moonsault.<\/p>\n

In the ring TAKA leveled Barreta with a leaping knee strike followed by a Taichi superkick.\u00a0 TAKA covered for a nearfall.\u00a0 SZG earned another nearfall with a Powerbomb\/springboard spin kick combination; Romero made the save this time around.<\/p>\n

TAKA applied a modified crossface as Taichi took Romero back to the outside.\u00a0 Barreta nearly got to the ropes but TAKA stood up and did a front facelock roll to reapply the submission.\u00a0 Taichi hit a sliding kick to the face garnering TAKA another nearfall.<\/p>\n

Barreta slipped out of a Michinoku Driver and hit the Dude Buster for a really close nearfall.\u00a0\u00a0 Taichi sent Romero into the railing.\u00a0\u00a0 Kanemaru grabbed ahold of the referee as Taichi slid into the ring with a chair.\u00a0 TAKA took the opportunity to roll to the floor.<\/p>\n

Barreta ducked a swing and grabbed the chair from Taichi. Taichi begged off into the corner and Desperado interfered once more.\u00a0 Barreta was ready and nailed him across the back with the chair then nailed Kanemaru in the head as he rushed in.<\/p>\n

As the referee pried the chair away from Barreta, Taichi stunned him with an enzuigiri. He came off the ropes but Romero was back in for stereo knee strikes to the chest.\u00a0 Taichi went to the floor where Romero took him and his SZG cohorts out with a middle rope tope.<\/p>\n

TAKA tried for a slingshot sunset flip but Barreta caught him and RPG Vice hit Strong Zero for the pinfall.<\/p>\n

Post-Match:<\/p>\n

Kanemaru and Desperado got the jump on RPG Vice and laid them out with their own title belts.\u00a0 Kanemaru got the on the mic and issued the next\u00a0 title challenge on behalf of himself and Desperado.<\/p>\n

7th Match:\u00a0Never Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto pinned Juice Robinson in 14:41 to retain the title<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

An excellent physical bout.\u00a0\u00a0 Robinson had easily his best match in his run thus far and Goto reminded everyone just how great he is against opponents not named Shibata.<\/p>\n

Robinson caught Goto off guard as soon as the bell rang with a dropkick. He delivered repeated clotheslines in the corner followed by a cannonball and a slam in the center of the ring.<\/p>\n

Robinson came off the top rope with a diving headbutt for a close nearfall. Goto rolled to the floor and the referee prevented Robinson from giving chase.\u00a0 Twice he stopped Juice from diving over him so Robinson opted to roll out on the other side of the ring.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately by then Goto had recovered and caught him with a boot to the midsection.\u00a0\u00a0 They traded forearms until Robinson got the upper hand with a boot to the midsection and a headbutt.\u00a0 He sent Goto into the railing where he dropped him with continued headbutts.<\/p>\n

Referee wanted Robinson back in the ring but he went for a cannonball instead.\u00a0 Goto moved and Robinson took a nasty spill into the rail.\u00a0\u00a0 Goto rammed Robinson into the post before firing him back into the ring.\u00a0 The champion punished the injured stomps with precision stomps.<\/p>\n

Goto delivered sharp forearms to the small of the back then sent Robinson into the corner.\u00a0 After a boot to the midsection he fired Robinson hard into the adjacent corner further damaging the back.\u00a0\u00a0 Goto got a nearfall with a top rope elbow onto the back.<\/p>\n

Another stomp to the back kept the advantage in Goto’s court.\u00a0 He snapmared Robinson over and delivered a stiff kick to the spine.\u00a0 He then locked in a crab;\u00a0 Robinson fought like\u00a0 a warrior and eventually reached the bottom rope.<\/p>\n

Goto was undeterred however and took Robinson over onto the mat to apply a tightly cinched chinlock.\u00a0\u00a0 He dropped an elbow to the bridge of the nose for added measure but Robinson still managed to get back to a vertical base.\u00a0 Goto converted his hold into a side headlock, Robinson throwing shots to the gut to force a break.<\/p>\n

Goto smashed him with forearm strikes but ate a boot coming off the ropes.\u00a0 Robinson fired up and clotheslined Goto over the top rope.\u00a0\u00a0 Though obviously pained, Robinson threw caution to the wind and took out Goto with a nicely executed springboard crossbody.<\/p>\n

Robinson rolled Goto back into the ring and hit an STO into a backbreaker followed by a side Russian legsweep.\u00a0 Robinson hit a senton then came off the ropes with a standing frog splash for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

They traded forearms center of the ring until Robinson cut Goto off with a boot to the midsection.\u00a0 Juice came off the ropes but was caught by Goto; Goto went for the Ushigoroshi<\/i> but Robinson landed on his feet and blasted the ribs with a superkick.<\/p>\n

Robinson rocked Goto with a combination of alternating jabs and chops. He wound up for a big punch but had to duck a clothesline instead. \u00a0 Goto turned Robinson around as he came off the ropes and ducked a leaping leg lariat.<\/p>\n

Robinson blocked the GTR and hit a leaping side kick.\u00a0 Robinson put Goto on his shoulders and hit a double knee gutbuster for a nearfall.\u00a0 Robinson missed a top rope moonsault.<\/p>\n

Goto charged Robinson in the corner but met a boot to the face.\u00a0 Robinson connected with a very stiff right hand to the jaw.\u00a0\u00a0 Robinson went back up top but Goto knocked him off balance with\u00a0 dropkick.<\/p>\n

Goto stood on the middle turnbuckle and peppered Robinson with forearms.\u00a0 Robinson threw a weak body shot, Goto answering with headbutts that left him dazed.<\/p>\n

Still, Robinson slipped out of a middle rope Samoan drop to deliver a powerbomb, folding Goto up for a nearfall.\u00a0\u00a0 Robinson wanted Pulp Friction but Goto dumped him on his head with a sick looking German suplex.<\/p>\n

Amazingly Robinson got right back up to throw a lariat.\u00a0 When Goto remained standing, he challenged him to come off the ropes with one of his own.\u00a0 Goto obliged and this time it was Juice who wouldn’t go down.<\/p>\n

Twice both men connected at the same time with lariats.\u00a0 Juice loaded up his right hand but Goto threw a headbutt to block it.\u00a0 Goto landed another headbutt but when he came off the ropes, Robinson nearly knocked him out of his boots with a lariat.<\/p>\n

Robinson hooked the leg but Goto was somehow able to kick out.\u00a0 Robinson looked for Pulp Friction but Goto fought it and stayed on his feet as Robinson crashed back first to the canvas.<\/p>\n

Robinson countered the GTR and went for a suplex but the bad back prevented a full lift. Goto picked Robinson up for a suplex and dropped him across the top rope.\u00a0 Goto hit a draping GTR for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

A straight kick to the chest from Goto only garnered him another close nearfall.\u00a0\u00a0 Finally a standard GTR put Robinson down for the three count.<\/p>\n

8th Match:\u00a0Tag Team Triple Threat Match –\u00a0IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions CHAOS (Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii) defeated The Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr) and Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) in 13:45 to retain the titles<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

A lot of moving parts but still a pretty good match.\u00a0 Smith is so poised for a major singles run now that SZG are back full time.\u00a0\u00a0 Yano was entertaining as usual.<\/p>\n

Yano spewed his water at Archer then decided he liked it better outside the ring.<\/p>\n

Everyone else in the ring began brawling.\u00a0\u00a0 KES cleared the ring in short order and Smith rammed Honma’s head into the ring apron.<\/p>\n

Archer sent Makabe into the railing.\u00a0 KES surrounded Yano who had a chair to try and fend them off with.\u00a0\u00a0 Smith knocked it out of his hands allowing Archer to drill him with a right hand.<\/p>\n

Back in the ring Archer connected with more raw boned punches with Yano backed against the ropes.\u00a0 Yano was sent into the ropes but hooked onto the top one to stop his momentum; he then ducked between them and called on the referee to back Archer off.<\/p>\n

The second it was safe, he darted across the ring and tagged Makabe into the match.\u00a0 Archer pounded on the back of Makabe’s neck while yelling at the crowd to shut up. He sent Makabe into the ropes but he was able to duck a clothesline and a chop.<\/p>\n

Makabe came of the ropes with a shoulder block but Archer stayed on his feet.\u00a0 Makabe landed a few punches but had his Irish Whip reversed.\u00a0 Fortunately he came back with a tackle that did send Archer to the mat.<\/p>\n

Yano, seeing Archer down, tagged himself back in and removed the corner padding as usual.\u00a0 Archer nailed him with a forearm, Yano avoiding further attempts and taking him to the mat via hair pull.\u00a0\u00a0 Yano went into his trademark thumb pose but Archer caught him with a big Full Nelson slam.\u00a0 Archer knocked GBH off the apron then rocked Yano with\u00a0 a shoulder tackle.<\/p>\n

Smith tagged in and stomped Yano down in the corner. He choked him<\/p>\n

with a boot to the throat which Archer continued as the referee forced a clean break.\u00a0 Smith took Yano over with a snapmare before applying a chinlock.<\/p>\n

Yano struggled before getting his foot onto the bottom rope.\u00a0 Smith kept up the offense with a pair of uppercuts.\u00a0 Yano tried to catch him off the ropes with an inverted atomic drop but it had no effect and Smith rocked him into the corner with a lariat.<\/p>\n

Yano avoided an elbow and Smith struck the exposed steel.\u00a0 Ishii got the tag and withstood\u00a0 a\u00a0 few boots to the face as he came off the ropes.\u00a0 Smith threw elbows to prevent a German suplex but missed a clothesline allowing Ishii to deliver one anyway.<\/p>\n

Archer ran into a forearm smash and Ishii set him up for a suplex.\u00a0 Archer went dead weight and muscled Ishii up for\u00a0 suplex of his own but Ishii floated over and landed a stiff chop.<\/p>\n

Archer reversed a whip and Ishii put on the brakes to avoid the steel.\u00a0 Archer lunged but Ishii moved and he crashed into the steel.\u00a0 Ishii went for a suplex and landed it after\u00a0 brief struggle.<\/p>\n

Archer rolled to the floor so Ishii spit at Makabe.\u00a0 Makabe took the bait and ran into a snap powerslam.\u00a0 Honma took Ishii down with\u00a0 a shoulder tackle but missed a Kokeshi coming off the ropes.<\/p>\n

Ishii leveled Smith with a pair of lariats but couldn’t drop him. He went for a third and both went down off a double clothesline.\u00a0 Smith covered for a two count then went for a running powerslam.\u00a0 Absent minded,\u00a0 he backed up near Honma who made the blind tag.<\/p>\n

Honma stomped on Smith who delivered the slam and went for the cover.\u00a0\u00a0 Honma chopped Smith but saw his whip into the corner reversed.\u00a0 Honma avoided Smith’s charge and hit a nice running forearm smash.<\/p>\n

Honma hit a running bulldog followed by a Kokeshi.\u00a0 He landed more chops and wound up for a strong lariat;\u00a0 as he hit the ropes Archer decked him from behind allowing Smith to land a forearm across the back.\u00a0 Smith got a nearfall with a bridging butterfly suplex.<\/p>\n

Archer cleared the ring and hit an assisted powerslam on Honma.\u00a0 Smith covered but Yano as there to break it up at two.\u00a0\u00a0 Smith hit a back suplex for a nearfall.\u00a0\u00a0 He went for the Bulldog Bomb but Honma punched his way out to land on his feet.<\/p>\n

Honma took Smith down with a flying Kokeshi to the face.\u00a0\u00a0 Makabe came in to start cleaning house; Smith, Archer, and Ishii all received big time lariats.\u00a0\u00a0 Yano landed a boot but came off the ropes into a powerslam.<\/p>\n

Makabe backed Smith into the corner for ten punches as Honma readied himself on the\u00a0 top rope across the way.\u00a0\u00a0 Makabe sent Smith in his direction and he came off with a Kokeshi.\u00a0 Seeing Smith in a seated position, Honma came off the ropes with another Kokeshi to the face for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

Honma went up top for a third Kokeshi but Yano cleverly tagged himself in before he took flight.\u00a0 Honma connected only for Yano to toss him aside.\u00a0 Yano got a nearfall with a dismayed Honma breaking up the pin.\u00a0 The two argued which allowed Smith to tag Archer.<\/p>\n

As Yano and Honma exchanged shoves, Smith assisted Archer in walking the top rope and he flew off with a massive crossbody onto both.\u00a0\u00a0 Archer kicked Honma towards the apron then delivered a chokeslam to Yano. He got a nearfall with Honma making the save.<\/p>\n

Archer forearmed Honma but missed a charge in the corner. Makabe tagged himself in to Archer’s displeasure.\u00a0 Makabe blocked a choke slam and rocked Archer with right hands.<\/p>\n

Smith came\u00a0 up from behind with an eye rake and a whip into the corner.\u00a0 Smith missed a knee strike and again went into the steel.<\/p>\n

Makabe\u00a0 ran back and forth delivering corner lariats to KES.\u00a0 Smith got out of the corner and Makabe hit the steel; at the same time Archer was right behind\u00a0 him to level him with a forearm across the back.<\/p>\n

Makabe ducked a double clothesline and hit one of his own to take down KES.\u00a0 Yano kicked Makabe in the shin, ducked one lariat, and got nailed with a second.\u00a0 Ishii ran into one then got sent to the floor with a Kokeshi.<\/p>\n

GBH sandwiched Yano with front and back lariats.\u00a0\u00a0 Makabe nailed a third lariat in the center of the ring then a fourth in the corner.\u00a0 He went for the spider German Suplex off the middle turnbuckle but Yano fought it.<\/p>\n

Makabe finally delivered it but immediately Archer ran in and knocked him off balance.\u00a0\u00a0 Honma rescued Makabe from a Killer Bomb and the two teams brawled.<\/p>\n

Smith hit a T-Bone suplex on Honma.\u00a0 KES hit a Heart Attack on Makabe and Archer caught an incoming Ishii with a boot to the face.\u00a0\u00a0 Ishii fought off a Killer Bomb and avoided Smith who ran into Archer.<\/p>\n

Ishii hit\u00a0 a double lariat on KES who wouldn’t go down.\u00a0 So, Yano slid in for a duel low blow to help his partner out.\u00a0 Ishii nailed Archer with a lariat and Smith with an enzuigiri.<\/p>\n

Makabe knocked Ishii down with a lariat.\u00a0 He for one on Yano who ducked.\u00a0 They traded waist lock reversals when Yano kicked Makabe between the legs out of the referee’s view.<\/p>\n

Ishii hit Makabe with a lariat and Yano rolled him up for the pinfall.<\/p>\n

Post-Match:An enraged KES beat the crap out of every young lion that was unfortunate enough to be in their sight line.<\/p>\n

A history package aired detailing the return of Suzuki-Gun at New Year Dash and the history between Kazuchika Okada and Minoru Suzuki.<\/p>\n

Main Event: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada (w\/ Gedo) pinned Minoru Suzuki (w\/Taichi)\u00a0 in 40:46<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BQIQsFzgkqR\/?taken-by=njpw1972<\/p>\n

I thought this was just a fantastic match.\u00a0 The intensity and storytelling through moves, body language, facial expressions, etc were spot on.<\/p>\n

At first I thought it was a bit ridiculous Okada overcame three days of an attack on his leg but further viewing revealed the beauty of what they left out there in the ring.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BQIQb2oActM\/?taken-by=njpw1972<\/p>\n

Taichi took his sweet team exiting the room and for a minute it appeared Red Shoes was going to eject him entirely.<\/p>\n

Okada was cautious in engaging Suzuki once the bell rang.\u00a0 They locked up with Okada powering Suzuki against the ropes.\u00a0 Okada reared back feigning a slap only to give his standard double chest tap to the challenger.<\/p>\n

Another tie up saw Suzuki back Okada into the ropes and emulating the champion with his own double chest tap.\u00a0 He seemingly backed up but quickly landed several kicks to the bad leg.\u00a0 Suzuki out Okada n his back with an elbow to the leg then\u00a0 went for the knee bar.<\/p>\n

Okada immediately rolled to the ropes, Suzuki not breaking until the count of four.\u00a0 Okada rolled to the floor and tried to walk off the pain.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada returned to the ring by the count of ten where Suzuki resumed throwing leg kicks.<\/p>\n

Showing fighting spirit Okada roared back with forearms across the face.\u00a0\u00a0 They exchanged forearms with Okada getting the upper hand.\u00a0 He took Suzuki over with a snapmare following with a sliding dropkick.<\/p>\n

Suzuki sought refuge on the apron but Okada was there with more forearms.\u00a0 Okada avoided an attempt of a cross armbreaker in the ropes and knocked Suzuki to the floor with a springboard dropkick.<\/p>\n

Okada fired Suzuki into the guard rail and surprisingly used the injured right leg to deliver the follow in boot to the face.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada hit\u00a0 a draping DDT on the floor and returned to the ring.\u00a0 Once on his feet,\u00a0 Suzuki used the count to his advantage in order to recover; he returned to the ring at the count of sixteen.<\/p>\n

Okada went after him as soon as he stepped though the ropes and hit a neckbreaker in the center of the ring.\u00a0\u00a0 A cover barely garnered a one count so Okada kept Suzuki grounded with a straight jacket choke.\u00a0\u00a0 Suzuki tried to power to his feet but Okada cranked up the pressure of the choke.<\/p>\n

Suzuki settled for getting a foot on the bottom rope for the break.\u00a0 Okada laid into him with stomps then uppercuts.\u00a0 Each one only fired up Suzuki who fired back with a hard slap.\u00a0 Okada answered with three more uppercuts that put Suzki back on the mat.<\/p>\n

Suzuki rolled to the floor with Okada right behind him.\u00a0 Okada sent Suzuki chest first into the barricade then delivered more uppercuts.\u00a0 Taicho shoved Okada behind and got his attention; this allowed Suzuki to attack from behind with a leg kick.<\/p>\n

Suzuki took Okada into the crowd and sent him into the Japanese announce table.\u00a0 He grabbed a chair and repeatedly struck the bad leg.\u00a0 Suzuki wedged the leg through a section of railing and cranked on it.<\/p>\n

Taichi took out Gedo at ringside as Suzuki bashed the leg with another obtained chair.\u00a0\u00a0 Red Shoes and Oka checked on Okada while Suzuki taunted Tanahashi who was a guest at the Japanese announce table.<\/p>\n

Taichi got in a cheap stomp to the leg and sauntered away.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada rolled back in under the bottom rope, Suzuki joining him after further assaulting Gedo.\u00a0 Suzuki picked up the bad leg, Okada firing away desperation forearms. Suzuki only laughed and took him to the ground with a kick.<\/p>\n

Suzuki tied up the leg in the ropes so he could deliver a basement dropkick directly to where the most damaged had been done.\u00a0\u00a0 Suzuki cranked on the leg before settling in a tight heel hook.<\/p>\n

Twice Okada rolled onto his stomach to try and reach the ropes; both times Suzuki pulled im back to the center.\u00a0 Suzuki stood up and locked in a combo of the heel hook and a modified crossface.\u00a0\u00a0 He transitioned that into a chinlock before Okada finally got to the ropes.<\/p>\n

Suzuki kept repeatedly stomping at the leg and knee, coming off the middle rope with a particularly nasty stomp.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada valiantly got to his feet but Suzuki poured it on with forearms. Okada fired back, Suzuki rocking him into the corner with an extra vicious forearm smash to the jaw.<\/p>\n

Suzuki kicked out the knee and then stood on it while he pulled on the boot of Okada.\u00a0 He then delivered several kicks to the face.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada had too much pride to just lay down though and threw more forearms. Perhaps angered Suzuki unleashed an ungodly devastating strong combination of a forearm, uppercut, and boot to the face.<\/p>\n

Okada blocked a boot in the corner and landed one of his own to Suzuki’s face.\u00a0 He followed with a zip tie neckbreaker.\u00a0 Okada landed forearms, Suzuki reversing his Irish whip attempt.\u00a0 Okada avoided a boot and hit a flying cross chop.<\/p>\n

Okada hit a flying elbow smash in the corner followed by a DDT.\u00a0 To try and show he was fine, he gutted through the pain to do a kip up.\u00a0\u00a0 A spinning uppercut got Okada a nearfall.\u00a0 Okada went up top for his elbow drop but Suzuki was already on his feet.<\/p>\n

Okada leapfrogged over Suzuki and did further damage to the leg in the process.\u00a0 Suzuki hit a running boot in the corner then snapmared Okada to the mat.\u00a0 Suzuki hit a Penalty Kick for a nearfall.\u00a0 Suzuki stood Okada up but took too long toying with him; Okada fired away with forearm strikes.<\/p>\n

Another forearm exchange ensued until Suzuki kicked at the knee.\u00a0 Okada reversed a whip but effortlessly Suzuki glided back to the leg and took kada down with a knee bar.\u00a0 Suzuki pulled Okada up so they would lock eyes.\u00a0 Okada kicked at Suzuki who cranked back on the leg in response when he tried to step in.<\/p>\n

Suzuki stomped on the leg but was distracted forcing Red Shoes away again.\u00a0 Defying pain, Okada lifted Suzuki onto the top rope and dropkicked him to the floor.\u00a0\u00a0 Suzuki rolled back in and Okada came off the top with a missile dropkick to the face for a nearfall.<\/p>\n

Okada slammed Suzuki in the center of the ring and though hobbling managed to get to the top rope.\u00a0 He hit a diving elbow and went for the Rainmaker; Suzuki though revered it into another knee bar.<\/p>\n

Suzuki grabbed Okada’s arm for added leverage pressure though Okada was able to break that grip quickly.\u00a0 With his champion nearly tapping, Gedo got the apron and considered tossing in the towel.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada got to the ropes to his relief.<\/p>\n

Suzuki stomped at the leg.\u00a0 When he tried to pull Okada to his feet there wasn’t any pressure he could put on the leg.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada crumpled to the mat when Suzuki went for a whip into the ropes.<\/p>\n

Suzuki locked in the figure four leglock center of the ring.\u00a0 Okada was briefly able to lift one of Suzuki’s legs off the mat to take off the pressure.\u00a0 Suzuki fully cinched in the hold and Gedo was back on the apron with his towel.\u00a0 He reconsidered when Okada showed signs of life and he nearly made it to the bottom rope; Suzuki changed direction on him and they were back in the center.<\/p>\n

Okada finally got to the ropes.\u00a0\u00a0 Suzuki stalked Okada, nudging him in the face with his boot. Suzuki landed knee strikes but Okada blocked\u00a0 a kick.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada lifted Suzuki up and hit Heavy Rain.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada threw forearms that initially seemed to do damage but Suzuki was merely toying with him.<\/p>\n

Undaunted Okada landed several more and an uppercut.\u00a0 Okada went for a Tombstone but a combination of the bad leg and Suzuki going dead weight prevented it.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada landed a double sledge to the back and then hit the ropes.<\/p>\n

Suzuki pulled Red Shoes directly in front of him which halted Okada’s offense.\u00a0 The two collided and Taichi jumped Okada from behind.\u00a0 He was soon joined by KES and the three of them commenced in beating on Okada.\u00a0 Finally Ishii and Yano ran down and cleared the ring.<\/p>\n

Okada fought off Taichi and caught Suzuki with a boot to the face.\u00a0 Taichi was sent to the floor while Suzuki was sent into the ropes for an Okada dropkick.\u00a0 Gedo grabbed Taichi and took him to the back evening out the playing field.<\/p>\n

Okada went for a cradle Tombstone but Suzuki slid down into a knee bar.\u00a0\u00a0 Sensing Okada was close to escaping, Suzuki stood up and transitioned into a modified hook with Okada on his back.\u00a0 Okada came really close to finally tapping out but instead made a mad dash for the ropes.\u00a0 Suzuki maintained control and pulled him back to the center.<\/p>\n

Okada barely fought the urge to tap as Suzuki stood up twice and fell back, really cranking on the leg.\u00a0\u00a0 In a panic Okada kept kicking Suzuki in chest and face but the SZG leader wouldn’t relinquish his grip; he cranked\u00a0 back harder and harder on the leg.<\/p>\n

Suzuki put Okada in further peril by wrapping up both legs and pulling back on them.\u00a0 Amazingly, Okada once more got to the ropes to force a break.\u00a0\u00a0 Suzuki kicked Okada int the chest and back, then landed a knee to the side of the head.\u00a0\u00a0 Suzuki made a rare cover for a two count.<\/p>\n

Suzuki took to slapping Okada but now it was the champion who was fired up.\u00a0 Okada landed two hard slaps and Suzuki fired back.\u00a0 They exchanged slaps, Suzuki’s having more force behind them.\u00a0\u00a0 Okada rocked Suzuki with two more hard slaps and hit the ropes.<\/p>\n

Suzuki criss-crossed Okada and trapped him in his rear naked choke.\u00a0 Okada countered the Gotch Piledriver with a modified White Noise, dropping Suzuki across his knee.\u00a0\u00a0 Suzuki caught Okada coming off the ropes with a dropkick.\u00a0 He went to town on Okada with alternating\u00a0 slaps and body shots.<\/p>\n

He sunk in the choke and brought Okada into a sitting position on the mat.\u00a0 Okada fought back up but soon started to fade.\u00a0 Suzuki spun him around and went for the Gotch Piledriver.\u00a0 Okada kicked his legs to block it but Suzuki muscled him back up.<\/p>\n

Okada countered with a backdrop.\u00a0 Suzuki tried a sunset flip but Okada grabbed ana rm and pulled him up for the Rainmaker.\u00a0 Okada couldn’t follow up due to all the damage he’d taken.\u00a0 He still maintained wrist control and brought Suzuki back up to his feet,\u00a0 Suzuki coming alive with rapid slaps.<\/p>\n

Suzuki threw a knee and landed a headbutt only for Okada to floor him with a second Rainmaker.\u00a0 Again Okada collapsed, unable to make a cover.\u00a0\u00a0 Suzuki ducked a third Rainmaker and went for the choke.\u00a0 Okada blocked it and went for Rainmaker but Suzuki spun back into him and tried to pick the leg for a knee bar.<\/p>\n

Okada blocked it and dumped Suzuki on his head with a German Suplex.\u00a0 He held onto the waist and rolled to his feet to deliver The Rainmaker.\u00a0 This time he made the cover and got the pinfall.<\/p>\n

Post-Match:<\/p>\n

Okada cut a promo saying Suzuki gave him a fight for the ages but there was no doubt he’d walk out still the champion.<\/p>\n

At the post-show press conference, Okada spoke of his next challenger coming from the winner of the upcoming New Japan Cup, specifically mentioning he hopes Tiger Mask W is part of it and goes far.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

How one feels about this PPV will depend on personal perspective.You’ll either\u00a0 feel they told the story of Suzuki-Gun throwing everything they had at CHAOS but CHAOS showed true grit and handed them defeat. Or you’ll feel Suzuki-Gun looked hapless as they broke every rule imaginable yet came up short in all their big matches.<\/p>\n

I implore you to watch the show and judge for yourself.<\/p>\n

Strapped For Time:<\/strong> I highly recommend watching Goto vs. Robinson,\u00a0 The Triple Threat Tag Title match, and Okada vs. Suzuki.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo: NJPW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Main Photo: NJPW World<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Japan Pro Wrestling\u00a0(NJPW) returned to Sapporo on February 5, 2017 to present its first of two New Beginning PPV events. Held at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, the event drew an announced crowd of 5,545. Kevin Kelly and Don Callis handled the English commentary. Nine matches were held, four of which were contested for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1834,"featured_media":2393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,14,1],"tags":[504,188],"class_list":["post-2380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-njpw","category-uncategorized","tag-new-japan","tag-njpw"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1834"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}